Okay... here is the next chapter. I hope you new readers have read my other stories, cause like I said, my other original characters are in here. That's right, all of them. So yeah... this one took a lot out of me. There was a lot happening in this one and I don't have any energy left. So, the next chapter may be a while. But anyways... thanks to...

demented-dreamer: Jon was supposed to be around seven or eight. And yeah... he went kinda childish in that last chapter, but that was because he really loved Tori and he didn't want to leave her and well, he is a child. lol. What do you mean by that 'one lone wave' thing? I don't understand. Could you explain please? lol.

Mage light: Well, here you go. Enjoy.

Zerrion: thanks for the compliment. And here is the next chapter.

cloverluck11: Glad it was a good chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen:

Lee smiled coldly as she settled onto the horse's back. It was just like him to want to challenge her prowess with the bow. But, as always she would win their little duel of skills. After all, didn't she have to Hunter's bow?

She smiled as she rubbed her hand over it fondly. Her finger's traced the shapes that had been carved into the deep red wood of the bow. They were depictions of woodland animals that would be killed with the bow. It was said in legends that the great Hunter God had carved the animals into the wood with his own hand. And had even hunted with the bow before bestowing it upon the royal family. The old king had always wondered why it hadn't been given to the highest rank, but now it was clear to her. She was the highest rank, and the old king had simply been warming the seat of the throne for her.

She smirked even as she fitted an arrow into the bow. Already she could feel the magic that hummed through the bow, the same magic that was infused within the rocks. Only, this bow didn't take her places, it allowed her perfect shots every time. She could aim at the sky, but if she wanted to hit the target it would do so.

But she always kept this power hidden, at least as hidden as possible. She wasn't certain what would happen to her or the bow if someone found it. Or if they tried to use the power.

Tori blinked open her eyes and looked around her, confused. This wasn't her room, she thought, trying to make sense of where she was. This was… she looked up at all the weapon's that graced the racks on the wall and realized she was in the Pirate's Swoop armory.

She frowned, wondering how she had gotten there but the frown slowly faded, as did the color in her face. She stared at the rack before her, her eyes glued to the bow on the wall.

"It's not possible," she whispered, even as her hands reached out to touch. They settled onto the red wood before jerking back, startled by the singe that she had felt. The wood had been hot, scalding, as if it had just come out of the fire. It had burned her. But when she looked to her hands to find the burn wounds, there were none. Her skin was as healthy and whole as before.

She shook her head, puzzled, but reached for the wood once more. It was cool to the touch now, but far from normal. She lifted it slowly, feeling the strength in the wood. And the magic. And something deep in her recognized that feeling. Reveled in it.

Almost absently, she grabbed the matching quiver and slung it over her back, her hands still touching the wood, tracing the figures as Lee had done in her dreams. The wood mesmerized her.

In a fluid motion that seemed faster then the blink of an eye, she pulled the arrow, knocked it in the bow, pulled and let fly. The arrow flew, whistling as thee sharp head cut through the air before it, rendering it split before it sunk deep into the wood of a support post on the other side of the room.

Her eyes widened in shock before a deep smile creased her features. It seemed she would never need to practice her skills with the bow again. As long as she had this bow, she could never ever miss. The power beneath her hands, trapped within the wood, told her so.

If she didn't stop to search herself for how she knew all this, or for how the bow had suddenly appeared in the armory when it hadn't been there the first day she had arrived her, it was simply because she was busy, and not because she was scared of the answer she would find.

She quickly hurried to her room, she had much to do for this day. She had already gotten the next few days off patrol duty, and though she had to lie to Derek and tell him that it was the anniversary of her brother's death, she didn't feel as bad as she thought she should. After all, she was finally taking a step in the direction of finding Robert's killers.

Evie smiled as she squeezed her husband's hand tighter, watching as the ship that would take them to Serinda was secured to the dock at Pirate's Swoop. Ciem looked down at her and smiled. They had been married for several months now, but had decided to stay with Evie's father, DeGraw for a while before returning to Ciem's country.

Evie's hand slid gently down to rest over her slightly swollen stomach, feeling the baby inside of her moving. She smiled again and beamed at Ciem, knowing that together they would make that child the happiest in the world.

The people on the docks were cheering for them as Novellee and Burdock disembarked from the boat. They had decided to come as a welcoming party.

Novellee's face lighted when she saw Evie's rounded stomach. It hadn't been a secret for long that she had wanted grandchildren. The older woman rushed to the couple and enfolded both in an embrace before turning to Dolph and his fiancée, Mary, and smiling.

"I'm glad to see that you are all well," Burdock beamed before embracing his son roughly. He turned to Evie and embraced her too, but treated her with more gentleness. The connection filled her with the warmth of a father's love as she smiled at him.

"Are we ready to return to Serinda?" Novellee asked, bestowing a smile upon them all. Evie, who was about to nod, felt a slight prickling at the back of her neck.

She turned to see a small figure in the crowd, a woman no older then twenty watching them with eyes that she recognized. Ciem's eyes.

Evie reached out with her Gift and touched the young woman and felt in her something that she always felt in Ciem, pride and arrogance. But hers were hidden, squashed deep down inside.

But it wasn't so much the emotions that she felt in the girl that spooked her, it was how closely they matched to the way Ciem's emotions felt.

It was almost as if… almost as if the two were related.

Evie stared after the girl a moment longer before shrugging it off and turning back to Novellee. "Yes, we're ready. I can't wait to see my new home."

Ciem smiled and slipped his arm around her and she knew that no matter where she was, her home would always be with Ciem.

As they turned to enter the boat however, she noticed several scruffy looking people start to jerk about in the crowd. Almost as one, they turned and faced a rooftop and let out an ear-piercing scream.

Evie was frightened to see one of the screeching people not very far from them. It was grabbing at its ears, it's mouth open in a silent scream even as it stared up at a spot on the rooftop. Evie, too, looked.

"Ciem!" She gasped pointing, "There's someone on the roof!"

Ciem turned and looked, saw the bow in the assailant's hand and shouted, "Guards! Armed assailant on the rooftop!"

Tori shivered as the scream rang through the crowd. But she had no time to waste. She steadied herself by bracing her knees against the center support log of the building and drew an arrow from her quiver. She had eleven and each arrow was tipped with a field rock. She had discovered one day that there were several field rocks per home rock. She had located a home rock back at New Hope in a cave way out in the woods. She had explored it with Jon during one of their adventures before the bandit fight.

She had left the opening free, but she had the home rock so far back into the cave, around so many twists and turns it would be a miracle if any of them made it out. She, of course, knew the way because at the base of each turn, she had marked a notch at the very bottom of the wall so she knew where she was going.

Placing a hand to all the arrows laid out before her on the support beam she whispered "Sheshmaru" and fired.

She wasn't surprised at how many she hit. She did have the Hunter's bow now, and it gleamed so beautifully in the light. What did surprise her was how fast the crowd panicked. What shocked her was that they had even noticed that instead of killing the enemies she was sending them somewhere else. But they didn't know that. They believed that they were disappearing out of thin air.

"Where did they go?" she heard a person shout and that seemed to bring them into an even bigger panic. As the crowd scrambled to get away from the roof top where she was kneeling, to get out of the range of her arrow's, she the soldier's sighting their bows on her.

She fumbled her last shot, but she didn't have a chance to see where it went. She was certain that it hit the intended target, but a sudden discord in the bow made her wonder. But only briefly.

Before she had a chance to check that she had hit her target, a different arrow whistled through the air and sunk deep into her shoulder. She let out a scream even as the sudden force of being hit knocked her off balance and sent her tumbling off the roof into the waiting hands of the King's Own.

Lee settled under the awning as the boats tied to her docks were emptied of people who migrated onto the sheltered section across from her. She lounged into the chair, her stance negligent and uncaring, the perfect image of a spoiled child who wanted more then anything to get her way. Her eyes, however, were what would betray her. They were deep and concentrated. But no one would have bothered to look. No one that she knew, that is.

The people under her command were so used to her showing nothing that they had stopped looking. They took their cues from her voice and from the commands she gave. But never did they bother to look into her eyes.

One long, white hand smoothed across her strong chin as she rested it in her palm. She sighed even as her shoulders relaxed against the back of the very elaborate and very uncomfortable chair. But her eyes, they zeroed in on the prince that was trying so hard to match her expression.

His dusty hair fell across his noble forehead and into his greenish eyes. He had a very handsome face, she admitted, all the way to the tiny dimple in his chin. It was charming to, the way his eyes sparkled at her, as if he knew what her thoughts were.

She watched him for several seconds more before the shifting of the crowd brought her attention. She looked at various noble's faces and saw the same thing. They were appalled. And by the direction of their eyes it was at the state of her dress. She barely suppressed a smirk even as she swallowed a small laugh.

She snapped her fingers at the page sitting beside her and had the dark pleasure of watching the appalled noble's jump as he scurried to her side.

"Are they staring at my britches, boy?" she demanded in a hard voice that reached only his ear. He looked up, barely able to make his eyes focus as the scent of her filled his nostrils. It wasn't often that a page like him was given a chance to speak directly to the commander.

"Yes, your excellency. They are," he had the intense pleasure of hearing her tinkling laugh before she waved him away. She settled back down, prepared to suffer through the long introduction that the Tortallan's felt they had to give. It did frustrate her at times like this that the royal family thought she needed to know everyone one's name, down to the lowest of scholars. What she did need was the Tortallan army and their strategist. But, if she had to suffer the introductions to get them, so be it.

When she looked back on this day, she really did believe it was partially her fault. As the names began to drone on and on and the heat began to climb unbearably, she had allowed her mind to wander to other things. Such as the way it would be so very cool in her cave at that moment. She really did wish she could sneak away and hide out in the cave, or out on the beach, with the sun playing through her hair and the waves tickling her toes. She truly felt that she could only be herself their at her cave. And she desperately needed to be herself for just a little while.

She sighed and opened her eyes when she realized she had closed them. Her vivid green eyes opened to see a blonde woman bending over the prince's chair, already working her whiles on him.

Lee gave a very deep growl of anger before springing to her feet and rushing across the open space, her hand settled on her sword. The Tortallan knights on guard saw her hand on the jeweled hilt and immediately reached for their own.

"Mother!" Lee barked coming to a stop three feet from the woman she loathed. Her face was pale with anger, contrasting sharply with the hair the sun had made shine. "I thought you were packing."

She watched as her mother slowly straightened away from the handsome prince, her back snapping straight. "Now, why would I be packing?"

"The love of your life is going to the front lines. It's only natural you follow him there, isn't it?" Silence settled over the crowd and more then one shivered at the ice in her voice. Lee's hand never left the sword hilt at her side.

"Who ever said he was the love of my life? All I wanted was a little attention. He blew it out of proportion. Now, run along and play dear. Let the grown ups talk," she waved her away with a hand over her shoulder, never turning to see the black rage that slowly consumed her daughter.

"Guards," she hissed. Like a flash they stormed through the crowd, pushing the Tortallan nobles out of the way as they marched with stone faces to stand at her back. "I warned you before not to over step your bounds, Mother. You can't fool anyone with that act. The Tortallan's know the laws as well as you. You have no power and no say in this war. Step down, now Mother, or I'll have you thrown into a cell for undermining me. Choice wisely Mother."

She knew for a fact that the Tortallan's had no idea of the laws. They had hardly spoken to each other before and had never had an alliance. Them being here and been Lee's first attempt at establishing her rule outside her country. If a high-standing country such as Tortall saw her as the power figure of this country, she had so many more chances. And here was her place to prove she was the power figure.

Slowly the woman turned and faced her.

For the first time Tori had seen the woman's face. She kept her eyes closed even though she had awoken, picturing the woman in her mind. Always before, when she had thought of the face she had never seen, she had made it so it resembled the woman she was inside. Needless to say, her imagined face was quite hideous.

But the true face that she had seen had been the most beautiful ever. The wheat colored hair only made her pale complexion glow, seemingly with an angelic light, but Tori hadn't believed it. Her stormy gray eyes had been too angry, to furious for her to be angelic. Never mind the fact that her features were those obtained only through the highest breeding, so perfect she was like a porcelain doll come to life. She was a vile bitch, and Toru truly hated her. She had never hated someone before and she blamed the visions for that.

With a deep sigh she opened her eyes. And met the same gray ones that she had just seen in her dream. She sucked her breath in, confused and uncertain. But the possibility still lingered in her mind. Her dreams had conjured the rocks and the bow, why couldn't it conjure a woman also? That thought, though it should have made her panic, calmed her greatly.

"You're awake," the woman said and Tori felt almost certain it was the same woman. She could hear the anger and the utter meanness in her voice and she stared at her with such loathing that it seemed to Tori this woman hated her almost as much as Lee had made her hate her own daughter.

The relationship may have started out without feelings on the mother's part, but in the last dream, the woman had definitely felt something for her daughter, even if it was hate. But that was beside the point. Tori stared at the woman that she had come to hate solely from the dreams and heard herself snapping, "Of course I'm awake."

"Don't take that tone with the queen," a calm voice spoke from the corner. Tori turned to see the woman that she had observed in the crowd. She had a strange feel about her, something that Tori couldn't comprehend but understood nevertheless. She had a special magic about her, like the magic in the rocks and in the bow. And it wasn't any less intriguing now then it was before.

"She isn't the queen. Her daughter is. Don't you know the laws? The wife isn't given any power. It falls to the children, to the son first, and then the daughter if there is no son. But the daughter only has control until she marries. So you see, she isn't queen. Lee is," she gave a smug smile and nodded her confirmation.

"But that is Lee. Not that you're allowed to call her that. Only close personal friends are allowed to call her that. You will address her as Your Highness," this came from the man in the corner. She turned to see him and gasped.

It was the soldier! She had conjured him also? Or had… had they conjured her? Regardless, she felt that it was her duty to set them straight.

"No, that's Lee's mother. Don't you know? Lee looks… well… she looks like me. But, I think she might be taller. And she certainly has colder eyes," she thought it over, still staring with her green eyes up at the man in the corner. Yes, she still felt the same as she always had about him. He made her want to fall into his arms and be held forever. It really was his fault. He had such a fatherly face, and his eyes were just so kind.

She frowned at him, studying him. Really, he looked much older then in her dreams. In her dreams he seemed to be about twenty-five, but here, here he seemed almost forty. "Have you aged soldier? Your hair has grayed much since I last saw you."

She heard an indignant snort and turned to the woman before her. She was laughing, a deep tinkling laugh, the same that she had always heard in her dreams. "That is no soldier, girl. That's my husband and the king of Serinda."

"No, he's a soldier. I do so wish Lee had thought of a way to get ride of you. You were never nice before and now you're lying. That is not at all nice," she crossed her arms and sniffed. "You didn't marry the soldier. Lee sent him to the front lines. And just today, in front of the prince, you admitted that you never loved him, that you only wanted attention. And then you told Lee to run off and play. I must say that was a terrible mistake. She called the guards and everything, and then she told you to step down or she'd throw you in jail. And then… well… then I woke up, so I don't know what shall happen next. But I must say, it would be best if you stepped down. Lee will send you off into the country and provide for you to live comfortably. All though, that is more then you deserve after what you did to Lee. And she was only seven too. But the war will go so much smoother with you out of the way. And who is that girl behind you? I must say, I've never seen her before. It is quite puzzling."

She stopped to take a breath and realized that she had just spilled her guts. And obviously something was wrong because none of them seemed to have a clue about what she was saying. She frowned at them and cringed when next the woman spoke.

"I don't have a daughter. Burdock is the King and I am the Queen. There are no front lines and there is no prince. I happen to love Burdock very much, as he loves me. And there is no war. And you, girl, are either crazy or hallucinating. Now, care to explain what you have done with my son?"

Tori stopped and thought, really thought. Her eyes opened wide and she stared up at the woman who had come closer to watch the expressions on her face. "You mean… you're not… he's not… you both are… where am I?" she looked quickly around the room, seeing for once that it wasn't the same style room that Lee had. She had never consciously thought about it, but there was a definite difference between the buildings that Lee owned and the ones in Tortall. And seeing these walls she knew she was still in Tortall. And these people weren't the people from her dreams. These people were real people, from her time. Her body began to shake as she stared at them her eyes wide and frightened. She had just revealed to them that she wasn't entirely normal, that she knew of an entire society that they weren't privy to. Most likely didn't even know about. "Who are you?"

"I, as I said before am Queen Novellee and he is King Burdock of Serinda. And this is our daughter Princess Evie. Now, care to explain what that whole rant was about? Who the heck is Lee and why do you think I look like her mother?"

But Tori wasn't listening. She had dropped her head in her hands and was trying very hard to stop the shaking. She was quivering so hard that her teeth were clicking together. She felt cold and hot at the same time, tired and energetic. And the trembling wouldn't stop. With a cry she wrapped her arms around her stomach and brought her knees into her chest.

Then the ring started to shake, slowly turning on her chest until the emerald came into contact with her skin. With another cry, she was wrenched from her conscious world into a vision.

The woman walked slowly from under the shade out into the light and met the eyes of the woman that had been the plague of her life. Lee could practically feel the hatred rolling off her in waves.

Lee met her eyes and saw what she would never have expected. Her mother's eyes were slowly being taken over by green. The gray was gone now, and the white was slowly turning a tainted green also. The same green as the emerald on her finger. The emerald the protected her.

"You sold out," she whispered, her fists clenching as she fought to hold back the rage and once more the betrayal. "You're one of them!" she screamed that, and made all the people around them jump.

"Of course. I've always hated you, you know. Always. Why would I side with you? You who are the demon spawn of the man who forced me. I could never stand to look at you, let alone to be ruled by you. Did you think I'd go quietly into the country and let you have you way with this country?"

Lee's eyes were clouded with rage even as she pulled the sword from its sheath. "You let that filthy man have you, didn't you? You gave yourself to him for the so-called 'power'. You're a nothing now, mother. A nothing! You're a bower," with that, she did what she had always wished she could.

Even as the crowd struggled to recover from the shock, Lee sheathed her soiled sword and walked slowly back into the castle.

Tori gasped and lurched back from the hand that was gripping her arm, burning it. She cried out as she touched the swollen flesh and nearly whimpered. But as she looked up at the pregnant woman, Evie, she forgot her own pain and knelt to help her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, shoving out her hands for support. Evie was pale and weak, clutching at her stomach. Burdock came to sit behind her, and she leaned against him, to exhausted to more.

"What was that?" she whispered as she closed her eyes and struggled for more strength. "Who were those people? And why did she look like Novellee?"

"You… you saw that?" Tori asked.

"Yes. When I touched your arm, I saw what you were seeing. They're real, aren't they? Those people?"

"I believe they are. But I'm not at all certain. I… I've only seen them for a few months. And I don't know who they really are. I only know the woman, Lee," she sighed and sat back on her heels.

"None of that matters right now. What matters is that we find my son! That is, of course, if he isn't dead from that arrow wound," Novellee's voice was gone of patience. She wanted her son back and she wanted him now. She had dealt with the loose of one child before and she wouldn't do it again.

"What does your son have to do with me?" Tori demanded. She still didn't trust this woman. She had too much of the meanness from Lee's mother in her.

"You're the one who shot him!" She shouted and turned away to pace.

"You're son…"

"He's my husband, Ciem. The one who was with me on the dock. Did you see him when you watched me earlier today?" Evie looked at Tori, her eyes sad and pleading

"The one with the dark hair and blue eyes? Yes I saw him, but that still doesn't explain…"

"Don't try and deny that you were the one on the roof with arrows. We caught you so give up that act," Novellee's voice was no longer shouting, but it was still a dangerous threat. It made Tori shiver.

"Of course I was the one shooting. But I didn't hit your son. I wasn't even aiming for him. And I never miss—" her sentence ended on a gasp. But she had missed. She had felt the discord in the bow. She had missed her final shot. And she had hit someone else.

She had hit the prince of Serinda.

"Ye Gods. I hit your son?" she shouted, shocked and scared. But she had to calm down. He would be all right. It wasn't like the field tocks at the tips of arrows were strong enough to pierce his skin. The most the arrow could do was bruise him and she doubted it had done that. As soon as the arrow contacted his skin it would have taken him directly to the home rock and the momentum of the arrow would have been lost.

"Yes! What do you think I just said! Now, what have you done to him?" Novellee stormed at her, fists raised. Tori cringed back even as she shouted, "I didn't do anything! I didn't even mean to hit him! The arrow that hit me screwed my shot!"

That stopped Novellee in her tracks. "You didn't mean to hit him?"

"No, I was aiming for the man standing in front of him. But when the arrow hit me, it knocked me back and my shot went wrong. Why would I shot your son anyways? I don't even know him."

"Regardless of that, where is he?" this came from Burdock. She stopped to look up at him. She had noticed before, unconsciously, that they looked an awful lot alike. But it was as she stared into his eyes that she realized his were almost the exact same eyes as hers.

"Why, he's where I sent him. In the cave. I should probably go get him now. I didn't leave much food in the cave. But then, I didn't know I'd get a prince. Now, please give me my possessions and I shall go get him," she held out her hands, but Novellee was having none of it.

"Oh no, you're not going to go get him. You're going to tell me where he is and I'll go get him. Now, tell me where he is," she crossed her arms and glared. Really she wasn't at all like her normal self, she thought. But it wasn't her fault. She was sick with worry that Ciem was hurt and she didn't know how to help him.

"Trust me. It would much faster if I went to get him. And I can't tell you how to get him. Because I don't know how to get into the cave. I only know how to get out," she smiled and again gestured with her hands that they give her back her belongings.

"If you don't know how to get into the cave, how do you expect to rescue him?" Evie asked from where she was now sitting on her own. Burdock had gone to get her things, the only sensible one.

"Oh, I can get into it. But I don't know how to get in through the opening," as if that made any sense she thought. She could see from their faces that they were thoroughly confused.

"Of course, it will take me very little time to get into the cave, but it will take much time to get out. I think it best that you met us at the Corus. I'll get there as fast as I can. Now, my things?" Novellee wasn't going to give her back her things, she could see it in her face, but Burdock had already entered the room holding them.

Tori's eyes flashed to the things and then to Novellee then back to her things. She broke into a sprint for Burdock, grabbed her things and sailed out the door even as her hand dug into her back, reaching for the last field rock.

"Sheshmaru!" she shouted and disappeared seconds before Novellee crashed through the space that she had been.

"Did you see that?" Novellee shouted, her eyes huge as she turned to Burdock. "In a blink. In a blink she just… she just disappeared!"

"No, she didn't," Evie stood in the doorway, watching her mother and father-in-law. She had seen much more by touching Tori then just that little clip that Tori had seen. She had seen everything Tori had ever seen and then some. And she knew what Tori had just done with those rocks.

"She took herself to where Ciem is. And she'll be back. She honestly didn't mean to take Ciem. This girl… she had many things depending on her. It would be in our best interest to help her."

A/N there you go. Now... I'ma gonna go sleep some and read some and collect more creative juices for the next chapter. lol. Review me!

Nubia